It´s possible to work progressively in the community services

One department working as a Learning Organization in Trondheim shows how!

 

The Unit for service to children and families in Eastern Town (BFT) comprise maternal and child health centres, school public health nurses, pedagogical-psychological services and preventive child care. The service is helping infants, children, youths, parents, health screening, advice to pregnant women, as well as supporting kindergartens and schools which aim to help learning and development in children with special needs. The offer is available through direct application to the Unit via health centres, schools, schools and nurseries.

 

Among the 13 professional helpers in BFT are midwifes, public health nurses, psychological advisers, consultants in child protection, skilled carers, physicians, social workers, physiotherapeuts and ergotherapeuts. The Unit aim at discovering children at risk and in need for help as early as possible and to act effectively thereon.

 

The activity in BFT is very knowledge-intensive. The employees with their knowledge, attitudes, capabilities and skills are the most important resources in the service. How they practice both individually and together is decesive for the results.

 

We have chosen to organise in multi-professional teams related to the age-class of the clients.

The teams are pivotal with regard to using action research (action learning, participatory learning and action) as an approach to share and develop knowledge. When the service is experienced as complex and with several cultures with different understandings. all these perspectives needs to be heard before change can be accomplished. This means a ”bottom-up” strategy where the employees are involved and participate actively in the further development of the service.

 

We begin to see results like more multi-professional activities through the knowledge and extended understanding of each others competencies. Knowledge are used more actively, and is better examined and used more creatively. This results in more clear offers of services and more tailormade help to each client as well as that children and youths get earlier help for their difficulties.